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fallnhorse
Member
Soft corals that do not requre light can be some of the hardest corals to keep. You need a tank with low light. No corals that could use nitrates for photosyhtnsis. You get a huge amount of organics in your tank for feed them. Then most turn to nitrates and nothing to use the nitrates. Then bad water conditions as you can see. Like red soft coral has no zooleathene algae and hates light. They should be kept in the wild.
chadman
Active Member
Originally Posted by fallnhorse
Soft corals that do not requre light can be some of the hardest corals to keep. You need a tank with low light. No corals that could use nitrates for photosyhtnsis. You get a huge amount of organics in your tank for feed them. Then most turn to nitrates and nothing to use the nitrates. Then bad water conditions as you can see. Like red soft coral has no zooleathene algae and hates light. They should be kept in the wild.
are you saying that the food in which we use for feeding the corals like phyoplankton and such is very toxic to the tank water? is over feeding corals more detramental to your tank than over feeding the fish....i know that fish food is very bad to over feed but wondered about corals foods....or do the coral food just continue to circulate until it is eaten?
Soft corals that do not requre light can be some of the hardest corals to keep. You need a tank with low light. No corals that could use nitrates for photosyhtnsis. You get a huge amount of organics in your tank for feed them. Then most turn to nitrates and nothing to use the nitrates. Then bad water conditions as you can see. Like red soft coral has no zooleathene algae and hates light. They should be kept in the wild.
are you saying that the food in which we use for feeding the corals like phyoplankton and such is very toxic to the tank water? is over feeding corals more detramental to your tank than over feeding the fish....i know that fish food is very bad to over feed but wondered about corals foods....or do the coral food just continue to circulate until it is eaten?
fallnhorse
Member
ok....I'll go a little in depth. Feeding corals is good for some. But any feeding photoplankton or liquid organic(DOM). Will contribute to nitrate product. Nitrates are a nutruentional requirement for zooleathenae algae. So if your coral needs high light or light at all that means he has this algae. But a coral with out it and hates light. Will never use nitrates and will acculmate. Because no matter how you feed him you will never get the proper dosage. Either will be too much or too little. Plus their polpys are such same delicate tenalce its debateable whether they actual catch much plankton. So you get this pool of liquid organic matter that's a direct result of nitrates. Which nitrates is extreme ponoius to soft corals.
Corals that require light or even high light are consider easier to keep. Yes it stinks to shell out for the MH. But when you stock your tank with light hungry corals. They use up the end product of the nitrogen cycle. Nitrates. Nitrates do have bacteria that will cause them to become nitrogen gas and be completely expelled from the tank. However these are aneroboric bacteria, need carbon dioxide to live. A reef tank is just the opposite. It has a high dissolved oxgen level. So little of this bacteria takes place. Only in deep sand beds. Then even not much.
So light hungry coral help keep your chemistry. Where as soft coral needing no light are a up hill battle to maintain. They are delicate and even experts find them hard. There is a big push to keep these corals in the wild. I agree. We should admire them in the ocean and only keep the best suited for our aquaruim. Its so nice to have a creature help you keep your tank clean then to dirty it up.
Corals that require light or even high light are consider easier to keep. Yes it stinks to shell out for the MH. But when you stock your tank with light hungry corals. They use up the end product of the nitrogen cycle. Nitrates. Nitrates do have bacteria that will cause them to become nitrogen gas and be completely expelled from the tank. However these are aneroboric bacteria, need carbon dioxide to live. A reef tank is just the opposite. It has a high dissolved oxgen level. So little of this bacteria takes place. Only in deep sand beds. Then even not much.
So light hungry coral help keep your chemistry. Where as soft coral needing no light are a up hill battle to maintain. They are delicate and even experts find them hard. There is a big push to keep these corals in the wild. I agree. We should admire them in the ocean and only keep the best suited for our aquaruim. Its so nice to have a creature help you keep your tank clean then to dirty it up.
chadman
Active Member
wow...thanks that was very informative!! lemme just make sure i get the jist....so corals such as say xenia....they actually need nitrates present in order to survive?
also i could not agree with you more about keeping things in teh wild which are simply not suited to be kept in a closed environment....
also i could not agree with you more about keeping things in teh wild which are simply not suited to be kept in a closed environment....
fallnhorse
Member
The zooxanthellae algae will consume nitrates. You might read no nitrates in your tank cause your coral is using them as soon as they are produce. Which is great, perfect. You still do not want high nitrates levels at all. But do be aware of some of these elements are being consumed and if you move coral out of your tank that was consuming these nitrates. You have a good potential of affecting your tanks chemistry. Just because you don't read them don't mean they are there in your tank. They are just being used. Thats every tanks goal. To be self sustianing and be a ecosystem to it's own.
That's why Xenias and Sun corals are recommend. They help keep your water perfection. However you never want your nitrates get to a "dangerous level". I would never want to see a tank over 20 ppm. Keep in mind all invertibrates have different tolerances it's not written in stone. Even less for some. Nitrates are just plain bad for any invertibrates in large amounts.
Basics: Nitrates are always present in any tanks that has cycled. Your sun corals use them to grow(zooxanthellae) and plants. You just never want to have too many nitrates in your tank. They are bad for any inverts. Some is normal and perfect fine. Just know your coral and how tolerant it is. Just keep them in check. But you got it right. It's a " Ying Yang Thing" I call it.
I hope this helps you. I learned alot from books. Just unfortunely the more info the more $$$ i have to spend to learn. Learn alot off this site too. Plus my tanks. This is definetly the best hobby i ever had....very rewarding.
That's why Xenias and Sun corals are recommend. They help keep your water perfection. However you never want your nitrates get to a "dangerous level". I would never want to see a tank over 20 ppm. Keep in mind all invertibrates have different tolerances it's not written in stone. Even less for some. Nitrates are just plain bad for any invertibrates in large amounts.
Basics: Nitrates are always present in any tanks that has cycled. Your sun corals use them to grow(zooxanthellae) and plants. You just never want to have too many nitrates in your tank. They are bad for any inverts. Some is normal and perfect fine. Just know your coral and how tolerant it is. Just keep them in check. But you got it right. It's a " Ying Yang Thing" I call it.
I hope this helps you. I learned alot from books. Just unfortunely the more info the more $$$ i have to spend to learn. Learn alot off this site too. Plus my tanks. This is definetly the best hobby i ever had....very rewarding.